1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to turret phones and more specifically to software turret phone capabilities.
2. Introduction
Turret phones are specialized phones designed for financial traders. A turret phone enables a user to control multiple dedicated, always-on lines of communication that can be used simultaneously. Turret phones, such as trading turrets, are frequently used by stock traders to simultaneously communicate with multiple parties. Trading turrets have capabilities specifically designed for the needs of financial traders, enabling users to prioritize incoming calls and make calls instantaneously by pushing a single button. Turret phones have dual handsets, multichannel speaker units, and a large grid of communication lines. Among its many uses, a turret phone was designed for a trader to more easily broker sales between buyers and sellers. Typically, the turret phone is equipped with two separate handsets that the broker holds in each hand, by each ear. Thus, the broker communicates with both the buyer and seller simultaneously, and is able to hear both at the same time. The broker uses a button on the handset to control which party she speaks to. Other capabilities, such as “hoot and holler,” enable the user to communicate with a large group of people at the same time, similar to a party-line. An important feature of turret systems is a “ringdown” feature for instantaneous virtual open circuits. Another important feature is the large distribution circuits which allow immediate mass dissemination of information to other users.
Soft-turrets are an alternative to traditional physical turret phones. In particular, soft-turrets replicate the functionality of a traditional turret phone using a computer with a display. Graphical user interfaces allow users to interact with computers and other devices, such as smartphones and tablets, using images instead of textual commands. However, currently, soft-turrets have failed to take full advantage of user interface technology and new input capabilities, such as touch and gestures. Indeed, the current soft-turrets are not intuitive or user-friendly, and lack significant benefits and advantages from various features of user interface technology, which can simplify the use of soft-turrets and increase efficiency and productivity of turret users.